Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has instructed officers to implement a Excessive Courtroom order and cease bike taxi providers throughout the state inside six weeks.
The directive follows a Excessive Courtroom ruling, which prohibited Rapido, Uber, and Ola from working bike taxis except the state authorities notified particular laws underneath Part 93 of the Motor Autos Act, 1988. With out these guidelines, Justice Shyam Prasad stated bike taxis are unlawful.
In a letter to Transport Commissioner Yogesh AM and Principal Secretary Dr N V Prasad, Mr Reddy known as for quick motion. “The Excessive Courtroom has given three bike taxi aggregators – Uber India Techniques, Roppen Transportation Providers, and ANI Applied sciences – a six-week deadline to stop their operations in Karnataka. I’ve instructed the officers to adjust to the identical,” he wrote.
How The Authorized Battle Began
The authorized battle started in 2016 when Rapido, underneath its dad or mum firm Roppen Transportation Providers Restricted, began bike taxi providers in Karnataka, however the state Transport Division declared them unlawful. Authorities argued that non-public two-wheelers can’t be used for business functions underneath state guidelines.
This led to a number of crackdowns, together with the seizure of lots of of bikes in 2019 and 2022, following protests from auto rickshaws and cab unions who claimed bike taxis have been harming their companies.
In response, Rapido approached the Karnataka Excessive Courtroom, in search of permission to function legally. In July 2021, the state launched the Karnataka Electrical Bike Taxi Scheme, legalising bike taxis however limiting them to electrical automobiles (EVs).
The Excessive Courtroom additionally issued an interim order stopping any motion towards Rapido whereas the case was pending.
Tensions continued, with auto rickshaw unions clashing with bike taxi riders. In April 2024, the Excessive Courtroom ordered the state to guard bike taxi operators from harassment by autorickshaw drivers.
The state withdrew the Electrical Bike Taxi Scheme in March 2024, citing security issues and misuse, however Rapido continued its operations, protected by the court docket’s interim order.
On November 12, 2024, the Excessive Courtroom reserved its judgment on Rapido’s plea to register two-wheelers as transport automobiles and situation permits underneath the Motor Autos Act. The state argued that white-plate bikes violated laws.
On April 2, the court docket dominated that bike taxis cannot function with out state laws, impacting platforms like Rapido, which has round 1.2 lakh riders in Bengaluru.
Regional Transport Workplaces (RTOs) have been instructed to type particular squads to establish and penalise unlawful bike taxi operators, significantly in Bengaluru.